


Angel of Fire (Tsunami/Peril | Wings of Fire)

by projectibris



Category: Wings of Fire - Tui T. Sutherland
Genre: Awkward Crush, F/F, Pining, Poetry, Secret Crush, Yearning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:07:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23221444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/projectibris/pseuds/projectibris
Summary: Queen Coral introduces her daughter to literature and writing, but when prompted to create a work of her own, Tsunami feels a bit embarrassed by her muse...
Relationships: Peril & Tsunami (Wings of Fire)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28





	Angel of Fire (Tsunami/Peril | Wings of Fire)

•••

"So you wrote all of these?" Tsunami asked, astonished. She wondered what it must've been like to have so much free time. All her life, stuck underground, training for battle and navigation, and rereading the same scrolls over and over grew pretty boring, but _The Missing Princess_ was always a story that brought her solace. There was quite a bit of beauty in creating something, and she admired her mother for that.

"Of course, dear." Queen Coral replied with pride, gently patting her daughter on the head. "You know," she started with excitement, "I imagine you are quite the talent yourself! Your beautiful sisters are, and _were_ so creative; Orca with her sculptures and Anemone with her magic...you've written, certainly? Perhaps you painted, at least…" 

Tsunami shook her head, speaking bitterly, "We didn't exactly have the luxury." Coral gasped in response, and even Anemone looked like she felt bad for her, but Tsunami wasn't fazed. Were there ever even blank parchments lying around under the mountain? Surely there must've been _some_ aside from what they used to write out their equations and history reports _._ Maybe Kestrel or the other guardians kept some hidden in their dens, and never allowed the Dragonets to play with them. She vaguely remembered her and her friends getting punished one evening for doodling on their work. They were only occasionally allowed to write again after that.

After her moment of dismay, Coral stomped her feet. "Utter brutality," she muttered, before calling to Whirlpool. She demanded he bring some clean parchment and a set of fresh inks with haste, and soon enough the Seawing slithered in like an eel with the requested items. 

He placed them at Tsunami's talons, smiling in a way that made her stomach frankly sick. She rolled her eyes and felt her wings relax as he exited the room. 

"Here you go, sweetheart. Create to your heart's desire," Coral's voice was wistful and gentle now. Tsunami felt a little hopeful hearing it.

However, looking down at the paper and ink, the Seawing found herself feeling a little nervous. Her mother looked over her shoulder expectantly, a smile on her face. But Tsunami hadn't written in years. Nervously, she dipped a claw into the ink, the way she'd seen her mother do it. "...Where do I start?" 

"Oh, wherever you want, my love. You can write or draw," Coral listed, tapping her chin. "Perhaps you'd like to write a poem!" 

_A poem._ Tsunami had learned two poems in her life; The Dragonets Are Coming, and one other one. It was written by an anonymous dragon, about a meadow and the life it harbored. She and the others had to analyze it for Dune once. It was a strange assignment, because there were no _wrong_ answers. Aside from that, she enjoyed reading it, and arguing with Starflight about its meaning. She realized now it made life sound much easier and prettier than it actually turned out to be. 

But writing a poem sounded easy enough, right? You just use flowery talk to describe something, and you can rhyme with them sometimes - but you don't have to. _Easy peasy!_

She gave a firm nod, and sat up straight, readying her talons for writing her first piece. 

But what would she write _about_ ? She paused, considering her options. Her favorite stories were the ones about awesome warrior dragonesses, but she didn't know very many, aside from the ones _in_ the stories - and herself, of course. It would be a bit self-centered to write about herself in a poem, and using a fictional dragon for inspiration just felt unoriginal. So case closed; she had no _muse_. 

_Well..._ she thought, knowing that wasn't true. She tried to stuff the thought of her away since she left the Sky Kingdom, but...Peril was a pretty incredible warrior. Someone with that much fire had to fight hard to even touch her opponent. Peril was terrifyingly strong and imposingly relentless in the arena, but even then there was a kind of kindness to her. Tsunami was of course glad that the Skywing hadn't accompanied them to this place - she would've burnt the place down the moment she set foot, and then probably smiled sheepishly in regret. However, Tsunami woke up sometimes certain she had dreamt of Peril. Her presence in the Seawing's thoughts brought equal parts frustration and contented excitement. 

The words _"Angel of fire"_ entered her mind.

Tsunami flicked the warmth from her ears, rubbing her arm with her palm. She turned to look back at Coral. The Queen's eyes were closed peacefully as she waited for the princess' process to begin. Anemone, however, was looking at Tsunami with irritation and disinterest on her face. She silently mouthed the words " _hurry up"._

"Oh, um," Tsunami sunk into her wings a little, realizing she had spent a little too long ruminating on her choices. Figuring it had now dried, she dipped her claw into the ink again and began to scrawl onto the parchment. 

She started with the "A". Uppercase, as it should be in the beginning of a sentence - she remembered that much from her studying. However, the shape was rough and shaky. She muttered in embarrassment, sure that everyone who looked at this would find it unintelligible; they would know the princess had little writing experience. Huffing out air in a sigh, she continued. An "n" and a "g" came next, both scribbly and skinny. She felt silly, placing her paws back on the table.

Queen Coral extended her neck over Tsunami's shoulder once again, taking note of the progress. Tsunami didn't dare look at her, afraid of the disappointment that would surely be on her face. "You're hesitating…" She said, no tinge in her voice.

"I just, uh…" Tsunami spoke up, straightening her posture once again. "I do my best work alone," she didn't like pushing her mother out of the room, but surely she wouldn't mind. She wouldn't take offense to her daughter saying that, right?

Queen Coral stepped back. "...I do as well. I hate to leave you alone," she fretted, "But I don't want to impede on your work. I will just be outside, and you can show me when you're done," Coral turned, yanking a half-asleep Anemone along with her as she left.

Tsunami smiled softly, waving her wing at her mother and sister, before returning her gaze to the parchment. 

_"Ang"_

_Impressive,_ she thought with a snort. Was she really about to write _"Angel of fire,_ " on her mother's writing paper? A poem about a firey murderess from the Skywing Kingdom. Oh, Coral didn't have to know. It could be about a firey murderess from the Sandwing Kingdom instead; then at least her mother wouldn't disprove from the standpoint of war. 

Tsunami wrote an "e" and "l" on the paper, imagining the look on her mother's face if she ever _met_ Peril. What a mess that would be. Tsunami would _say, Oh mother, I'd like you to meet Queen Scarlet's arena champion. She's endangered my life almost as often as she's saved it, but she's an excellent fighter and sure pretty, right?_

Tsunami stopped. That sounded an awful lot like something a sap with feelings for a gladiator would say. 

But there was no _way_ that was the case, she thought, scrawling down an "o" and "f". Plus, it wouldn't work out anyway. They'd never be able to entwine tails or nuzzle - well, unless Tsunami's theory was right, and submerging Peril in water for a moment would cool her off enough to touch. Ugh, had she really thought about it that much? 

Glory acted like she could see it written on Tsunami's face, and while she never tried to deny it, Tsunami _did_ act like it was ridiculous - which it was. Tsunami was royalty, and a Dragonet of Destiny; she didn't have time for dumb crushes that occupied her thoughts for days at a time. She wrote a scrawny "f" and "i". Then an "r" and an "e".

_"Angel of fire,"_

Tsunami looked over this first line, unknowing of where to go next with it.

Would she ever see Peril again? If she didn't, this poem would be kind of silly, wouldn't it? " _Angel of fire"_ was a good way to describe her, though. 

The minutes passed as she wrote more, finding clever rhymes to continue the poem with. As frustrating as it was to look at with her lack of writing experience, it actually did make her quite happy to create something. However, when she was finished, she wasn't sure how much she wanted to share it with anyone just yet. Maybe it just wasn't finished, and it needed more work. Or maybe it just said things she wasn't ready to say yet. 

Aside from that, she considered it a successful first piece…

-

_Angel of fire,_

_Danger and dire,_

_Broken steel and ruptured blade,_

_Weaker warriors find shade,_

_Heat and strength in her every part,_

_Threaten to warm a caged mountain heart,_


End file.
